Persistence: “Believe and you will persist.” Believe in your company, your product and yourself, but remember that there is a difference between being a pest and being persistent.

Enthusiasm: Enthusiasm comes from within, enthusiasm is contagious, and enthusiasm sells. Again, look at the last four letters, i-a-s-m. They mean “I Am Sold Myself,” and your customers will see that and will buy from you.

Positive Mental Attitude: Selling can be a grand adventure or a painful experience depending upon your attitude. Remember, the world out there is a reflection of your attitude.

Self-Image: Self-confidence, faith. We cannot out-perform our self-image. In other words, we will perform in the manner in which we see ourselves. Your self- image can lead you to the top of our stairway or put you on an escalator to the basement.

Goal Setting: “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” Set goals that require some stretch, write them down and put a time frame on them, then check your progress.

Honesty: Honesty with your customers, honesty with your company and honesty with yourself. Napoleon Hill writes, “A person is either honest or dishonest. There can be no compromise between the two.”

Integrity: Integrity shows in your everyday actions, whether anyone is looking or not. A quote from Tom Peters: “Integrity has always determined the difference between winners and losers.”

Alertness: Look for opportunities to fill a need, to solve a problem. Use your powers of observations, be alert.

Elasticity: The ability to bounce back, pick yourself up, smile and get on to the next opportunity. Resourcefulness: Use the resources at our command from your company, your vendors, self-help books and tapes and seminars. Your investment in these resources, in time and money, will pay big dividends.

Cooperation: Loyalty, teamwork. WE all rely on others every day. Give cooperation and you will receive cooperation. Remember the word “we” and forget the word “I”

Competitiveness: You should enjoy it when things get difficult. Great things happen to you when you have to do your best.

Good Selling Skills: this is part of your total package. Product knowledge, industry knowledge and good selling skills are all part of your success formula.

Good Conditioning: Good physical, mental and moral conditioning. Take care of your body and take care of your mind.

Courage: The opposite of fear. Don’t let fear of failure or rejections get you down. It will absolutely ruin your selling career. Look at failure as “part of the learning process.” There is never any failure, because we’ve always learned something.

Knowledge: Knowledge properly applied is power. Become an expert; use your knowledge not to overpower people, but to help them. Your selling career and your personal life will be very positive with this strategy.

Confidence: Confidence is probably the most effective sales tool you have. First comes curiosity, then comes knowledge, then comes confidence. Take the time to learn and remember this: what you learn, practice, what you practice becomes habit, and what becomes habit becomes your result.

There you have it: All of our steps in one article. Now, you may ask, what do I do with all of these steps? There are a lot of them – where do I start?

Keep it simple. Pick out one or two of these steps that you believe will be of the most help to you initially. Everyone is different, though. As far as when you should begin your new training, remember those three little words, the world’s great self-motivator, “DO IT NOW.”